Wood - pasture, parkland and ancient trees

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Abridged version taken from the Wiltshire Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)

Introduction

Wood-pastures are areas of wooded land, which have been used for the dual purpose of growing trees and grazing deer and livestock. Within historic wood-pastures (e.g. Savernake Forest) grazing may have ceased. In some historic deer parkland the tree component may have been reduced to a few ancient trees in improved grassland. At the other end of the spectrum, there may be occasional ancient trees surrounded by commercial plantations.

The presence of large old trees is the key characteristic and the main reason for these habitat types being of special conservation interest. The associated wood-decay invertebrate and epiphyte communities are uniquely species-rich and much closer to the composition that was found in the Wildwood, which covered much of the country following the last glaciation. A high percentage of rare and threatened dead wood species are now associated with the ancient trees.

Importance

• The trees present are likely to retain genetic stock from the primeval forest
• Wood-pasture supports key groups of organisms, which make them of European importance, e.g. wood-decaying (predominantly fungi and invertebrates), epiphytic (predominantly lichens, mosses and liverworts) and mycorrhizal (predominantly fungi) communities. Individual ancient trees and pollards in hedgerows and otherwise open fields provide valuable stepping stones for wildlife from one ancient tree habitat to another.
• This habitat is also of particular interest for birds and bats, which use the cavities in the trees for nesting and roosting.
• The pasture aspect may also be of special nature conservation interest, although more often than not, this interest has been severely degraded or lost through modern commercial farming practices. Wood-pastures are also of national or international historic, cultural and landscape importance.

Extent and distribution

Statistics on the actual extent of wood-pasture and parkland in Wiltshire are not available. The documentary record for medieval parks is incomplete and, therefore, subject to a number of interpretations. Oliver Rackham in his 1990 book - 'Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape' suggests the number of medieval parks in England was about 3,200 in England, with 70 in Wiltshire. Assuming an average park size of 80ha given in Oliver Rackham’s 1986 book - 'The History of the Countryside', approximately 5,800ha of medieval Wiltshire was once parkland.

Although new parks were created after the medieval period, there seems to have been an overall decline, and so the figure of 5,800ha may be regarded as the ‘high point’ of parkland within Wiltshire. Not all of this parkland would have been in wood-pasture, but it is likely to have been the dominant form of management. To this crude estimate must be added other areas of wood pasture management outside the medieval park system, described by Rackham as wood-pasture management in wooded commons and wooded forest; possible examples of the latter include the Longleat and Hamptworth Estates.

It is difficult to estimate how much wood-pasture survives today. The 1998 English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest lists 35 historic parks and gardens in Wiltshire, of which around 26 contain parkland. However, a number of parks are not included on the register (for example Pythouse Park near West Tisbury), and the register does not include wooded commons and forests, except where they coincide with historic parks. It may be that the area of relict wood-pasture in the county is double that within designed parks, giving a crude estimate of around 4,300ha.

There are very few actively managed ancient wood-pastures remaining in Wiltshire. There are several good examples of relict wood-pasture, such as Savernake Forest, with potential for restoration.

Parklands are widely distributed around the county, with the notable exception of the central high chalk plateau and downs.

In addition to the ancient trees retained in ancient woodland sites, other ancient trees are widely distributed along hedgerows and watercourses. These trees, and in particular old pollards, are a characteristic feature of the local landscape. Floodplains often have important concentrations of older generation open-grown trees. Ancient trees, or at least ancient boles, are present in ancient coppice.

Trends

Statistics on the extent of historical and current rates of loss or degradation in Wiltshire are not available. However, losses are likely to have been considerable, through suppression of grazing rights, enclosure, development, decline in appropriate management, etc.

Key species

See Woodland Habitat for more information.

Last updated: 23 June 2009